“The account settlement of FY2012 shows a recovery with a total sales of 799.7 billion attained by 55 leading gas distributors each selling over 5 billion yen, which exceeds the figures at the peak time before the Lehman shock, including two distributors increased from the previous year.

Including one additional company to those in last year, there were 28 gas distributors (out of 55) each selling more than 10 billion yen sold about 607.7billion yen, with an increase by 1.3% compared with last year. The result in FY2012, for the first time, exceeded the best figure which had been attained by the distributors each selling 5billion yen in FY2008 just before the Lehman Shock.

Increasingly severe business forecast for FY2013

In 2012 the gas and welding material distributors selling more than 5billion yen attained a continued increase although it was far less than the 22% increase which had been marked in the previous year. Since spring of 2012, however, due to the lack in restoration demands after the Great Earthquake, the business conditions in the major industries such as electronics consisting mainly of semiconductor, automobile, shipbuilding, chemical and steelmaking has been stagnated, and it has been already predicted that the gas distributors will suffer from a seriously disappointing business result in FY2013.

According to the result of FY2012, among the gas distributors each selling over 10 billion yen, Tomoe Shokai ranks at top also this year, attaining a sales over 65 billion yen controlling the decreasing rate of income to only 4.7% from the precious year in spite of the influences by the sluggish business in the semiconductor and other electronic business and the stoppage of nuclear power plant. The other best seven ranking distributors kept their previous positions.

When we compare the sales at the peak time after FY2006 of the distributors selling over 10 billion with the result ending last December, we find that the average of income decreasing rate of top four distributors (Tomoe Shokai, Suzuki Shokan, Toyoko Kagaku and Ueki) having comparatively larger weight on the semiconductor production field was 25.5%, while that of 13 distributors engaging mainly in the regionally based business was 11.8%. The other two distributors attained the record-high sales in FY2012. The long-lasting stagnated business in the electronic field centered by semiconductor has exerted great influences to the top four leading distributors since the Lehman shock.

Among those distributors selling over 5 billion there are many companies who have already developed activities abroad, while some having accumulated know-how are seeking an opportunity for further investment in overseas business. It is because the gas and welding materials are sold in harmony with the national conditions of growing markets such as Southeast Asian countries. On the other hand, there seems to be some impatient movements of the major domestic users who fear no more growth without any deployment to such developing countries.”